Tim Farron `pretty offensive´ for failing to say gay sex is not a sin

Tim Farron’s failure to state gay sex is not a sin is “pretty offensive” and will anger many people, MPs have said.

The Liberal Democrat leader was challenged over his stance after The Observer reported he failed to fully answer questions about gay sex when asked.

Mr Farron was pressed to clarify his position while appearing on ITV 1’s Peston On Sunday, replying “being gay is not a sin” before adding he was “getting tired of this line of questioning” when asked to be unambiguous on the matter.

Asked about the claims he failed to give his view on gay sex, Mr Farron replied: “I’ve been asked this question loads of times over the past few days – even in the House of Commons – being gay is not a sin.”

Questioned if sex between consenting adults was a sin, Mr Farron told ITV political editor Robert Peston: “Robert, if I’m honest with you, it’s possible I’m not the only person who is getting tired of this line of questioning.”

Mr Peston questioned why the Lib Dem MP would not “just close it down by being unambiguous”.

Mr Farron replied: “In America it appears you have to invent a faith in order to be seen to be a serious candidate for anything. In this country it maybe appears you have to pretend you haven’t got one to be taken seriously.”

Reacting to the interview, Ms Kendall told the same programme: “I think a lot of people will be appalled that he couldn’t bring himself to say that gay sex is not a sin. I think that’s pretty offensive and will rightly anger a lot of people. I think that was a really terrible interview to not be able to bring himself to say that.”

Tim Farron refusing to say whether gay sex is a sin is horribly damaging to young LGBT people struggling with their sexuality.

Mr Gove added: “I agree with Liz. It’d have been perfectly possible for him to say ‘Of course it’s not a sin, it’s how people love each other’. I’m a churchgoer too. I don’t have any problem in saying that I think gay sex is absolutely not a sin.”

Former Liberal Democrat cabinet minister Vince Cable on Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday said of Mr Farron: “The problem he has as an individual – and it is true of a lot of Evangelical Christians and Roman Catholics – is that their religious faith has a certain approach to these problems, but they are also public figures who have to represent their constituencies which are much more diverse.

“I think that Tim accepts – and I think that many highly-motivated Christians accept – that when they are in public life they have got to reflect the people that they represent. And he has done so and he has done so in a very liberal way. He has a personal faith and I respect people who have a personal faith.

“He is struggling with his conscience as a lot of Christians – and, indeed, Muslims and others – are. When it has come to the crunch, voting on gay marriage, voting on these issues, he has voted consistently in a liberal way along with the rest of our party.”